The key to getting your hair back to a natural state of being? Giving up store-bought shampoo and conditioner!
Maybe it seems a bit eccentric, but giving up store-bought shampoo and conditioner will do wonders for your hair & your financial pocket. I can’t tell you how much money I’ve spent on shampoo and conditioner since I got to college (it’s a lot). And for what? It’s always made my hair feel greasy and gross after only a day. After doing some investigating, I discovered that my hair got so nasty so quick because of all the chemicals hair product companies put into their products.
And so, in the search for a better way to care for my hair, I came across this article that opened me up to a world without traditional shampoo and conditioner.
Let me first start by saying that you aren’t completely giving up washing your hair. Giving up shampoo/conditioner and not washing your hair are two very different things. Not unsurprisingly, the way to get your hair to its natural state is to use natural products.
In this regiment, your “shampoo” is baking soda while your “conditioner” is apple cider vinegar. Sounds crazy, right? I thought so, too, until I tried it for myself. Never has my hair felt more clean and soft.
The reason baking soda and apple cider vinegar work so well together is because baking soda is a base while apple cider vinegar is an acid. The two substances counteract each other. Store-bought shampoos and conditioners are packed with so many different chemicals that your hair becomes too acidic. This, in turn, causes your scalp to overproduce oils (in an effort to balance the chemical state of your hair) and leads to greasy hair within hours.
By using natural products without all of the added chemicals, your hair (over time) produces less oil on your scalp. Your hair is healthier and is back to its most natural state of being. Other benefits of using non-traditional shampoo and conditioner include:
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Saving on money! It only costs $6 total for a box of baking soda and bottle of apple cider vinegar that will last you a year or more.
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You’ll be helping the environment. By using natural products, you’re not washing a bunch of questionable chemicals down the drain and you’re cutting down on your use of plastic materials.
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Your complexion will likely clear up. Because your scalp won’t be producing as many oils, you’ll be less greasy all around. This will positively affect your complexion.
Still interested? Here’s how you can transition to using natural hair products:
Step #1: Create your new shampoo and conditioner.
Buy two separate containers to hold the liquids. I like using a squeeze bottle for the shampoo and a spray bottle for the conditioner. For the shampoo, mix baking soda with water until the mixture is a paste. In my experience, you don’t want the mixture to be too thick (then, it might be hard to squeeze out of the bottle) or too thin. Finding the right ratio is largely up to experimentation and what feels right for you. For the conditioner, mix 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of water. Mix this well. You don’t want too much vinegar in this mixture since too much of an acidic substance might cause your hair to be more greasy than you’d like. Pour your two mixtures into their respective containers.
Step #2: Begin washing your hair with your new shampoo and conditioner.
Surprisingly, these substances work just as good as store-bought shampoo and conditioner. For about two weeks, wash your hair with the baking soda and apple cider vinegar mixtures. The baking soda should be concentrated more on your scalp while the apple cider vinegar should be rubbed into the ends of your hair. Also, make sure when you’re washing your hair you’re really scratching your scalp.
Step #3: Cut off using any shampoo and conditioner and wash your hair using only water.
During this stage, your hair is likely to become greasy because your scalp still hasn’t gotten fully used to your new hair washing regimen. Your scalp is still being affected by the store-bought products by producing more oils than necessary. But, by the end of this stage, you should have gotten your hair back to its natural state. When you wash your hair during this stage, don’t use any product; just use water. When using just water to wash your hair, it’s extremely important that you’re really scrubbing your scalp. This will help loosen up any grease that may be lingering.
Step #3 is definitely the most unflattering and worst part about this whole process. If you can get through it, though, your hair will come out looking and feeling a lot healthier. Since your hair will likely look and feel greasy, it might help to wear your hair up or hide your hair under a hat during this stage.
Continue washing your hair with just water for two to three weeks or until you feel like it’s necessary to use the baking soda and apple cider vinegar again.
Step #4: Begin using baking soda and apple cider vinegar once a week.
Once your hair has reached its natural state of being, your hair will be able to go longer periods of time without using any product. For example, when I got to step #4, I found my hair looked and felt normal four days after washing it with only water. This never would have been possible if I went four days without washing my hair using store-bought products. I find that washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar once a week suffices to keep my hair looking and feeling nice. Your hair is different, though, and you may feel washing your hair twice a week suits you best. If you’re especially athletic, you might need to wash your hair more frequently due to sweating. Really, just find what works the best for you!
At the end of the day, using a natural form of shampoo and conditioner will help your hair become stronger and healthier, your complexion will likely clear up, you’ll be helping the environment, and you’ll be saving tons of money.
What’s not to love? I’ve been using this method for a while now, and I can say confidently that I’ll likely never go back to store-bought shampoo and conditioner.